Magic: the Gathering - Zendikar Expeditions

Oath of the Gatewatch is the name of an upcoming release of Magic: the Gathering. As part of the release there are some rather rare cards that will be included called Zendikar Expeditions. I had the chance to do three of the twenty that will be released with Oath of the Gatewatch.

Mana Confluence

Mana Confluence oil on panel - 16x20

Digital sketch. Because I was doing an oil painting, I took my sketch a little further.

Here is a video time-lapse of the painting.

Ancient Tomb

Here is the sketch submitted for this card as well:

Once the sketch was approved, I decided to build a bit of it out in Blender:

And for good measure, here is a gif of the painting steps:

I have always loved the dried out corpses in movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark that suggest a long story aside from the current one being told. As I painted these three here, it was fun to imagine what brought them here and what they might have been seeking. Were they killed, or did they die, content with having found the treasure they sought?

Strip Mine

This card was challenging to do as an exercise in patience. Lots of little geometric details to add.

The sketches:

Progress gif:

Thanks for taking a look, and when the third card is released, I will post it in my next post. It was an oil painting and I shot a time-lapse of the piece from start to finish.